Apparatus for transferring cigarettes



Jan. 1966 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,229,802

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING CIGARETTES Filed April 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 jig/MM ,4. m

Jan. 18, 1966 D. w. MOLINS ETAL 3,229,802

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING CIGARETTES Filed April 5, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 law? W 14. mw W United States Patent 3,229,802 APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING CIGARETTES Desmond Walter Molins and Horace Alexander Stone, both of Deptford, London, England, assignors to The Molins Organisation Limited Filed Apr. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 357,059 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 10, 1963, 14,367/63 2 Claims. (Cl. 198-20) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to apparatus for transferring cigarettes from a continuous rod cigarette-making machine to a collecting conveyor common to a plurality of such machines.

It has hitherto been usual to collect cigarettes from the catcher of a continuous rod cigarette-making machine, to place the collected cigarettes into a container and to move the container and cigarettes to the next stage of the manufacturing process. This type of transfer can be carried out manually in which case the labour costs are high since one person per cigarette making machine is necessary to carry out the work involved. Alternatively it can be effected mechanically in which case the cost of the equipment is high. The present invention sets out to provide a yet further means of transfer for a group of cigarette-making machines without the disadvantage of either of the older type of transfer.

According to the present invention there is provided transfer apparatus to transfer cigarettes moving one behind another on a continuous rod cigarette-making machine catcher band to a collecting conveyor which is inclined at an angle to the catcher band, comprising two narrow band conveyors extending from the delivery end of and moving in the same general direction as the catcher band and delivering to the collecting conveyor, one of the two narrow band conveyors moving faster than the other so that cirgarettes in being transferred from the catcher band to the collecting conveyor have their axes rotated through the said angle.

The two narrow band conveyors may deliver cigarettes at a higher level than that of the collecting conveyor. There may be provided means to guide cigarettes from the delivery end of the two narrow band conveyors to the collecting conveyor and side guide means may be provided so as to align cigarettes transferred to the collecting conveyor.

Cigarette transfer apparatus according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan of part of a layout of cigarette transfer apparatus involving three cigarette-making machines,

FIGURE 2 is a part of FIGURE 1 but to an enlarged scale,

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line IIIIII of FIG- URE 2.

Referring first to FIGURE 1 a common collecting conveyor 1 serves a group of three cigarette-making machines, the centre lines of which are shown at 2, 3 and 4. Each cigarette-making machine is provided with a catcher band, these being respectively 5, 6 and 7. Extending from each catcher band are two narrow conveyor bands. For example, from the catcher band 6 narrow bands 8 and 9 extend from the delivery end to the collecting band 1.

In FIGURE 2, the catcher band 6 is carried around a roller 10. A scraper 11 helps to transfer the cigarettes from the catcher band 6 via a bridge piece 12 to the narrow bands 8 and 9. The band 9 is driven from a roller 13 keyed to a shaft 14 which is in turn driven by a pulley 3,229,802 Patented Jan. 18, 1966 15 and driving band 16. The band 8 is driven separately from a roller 17 keyed to a shaft 18 which is driven by pulley 19 and driving band 20. The arrangement is such that the driving band 16 is driven faster than the band 20 and thus the narrow band 9 moves faster than the narrow band 8. Both bands 8 and 9 move over a plate 21 which is provided with slots 22 and 23 to accommodate respectively head rollers 24 and 25 which are free to rotate on stub axles 26 and 27.

The cigarettes are transferred from the two narrow bands 8 and 9 to the collecting conveyor 1 by a first guide means. This comprises an endless band 28 (see FIGURES 2 and 3) driven by a roller 29 to which is key a driving pulley 30, a lower flexible strip 31 and an upper flexible strip 32, the former strip 31 being rigidly attached to the frame of the collecting conveyor 1 by a bracket 33 and the latter by a plate 34 and a post 35. A second guide means comprising a plate 36 is fixed rigidly to the framework supporting the narrow bands 8 and 9.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Cigarettes are delivered one behind another on the catcher band 6 of the cigarette making machine indicated by the centre line 3. Still traveling in the same direction, i.e., transverse to their longitudinal axes, they are transferred by the scraper 11 and the bridge piece 12 to the two narrow bands 8 and 9. Since the band 9 is moving faster than the band 8 the longitudinal axes of the cigarettes start to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as seen when looking at FIGURE 2 at the same time as they move in the same general direction as they were moving on the catcher band 6. The difference in speed of the two bands 8 and 9 is adjusted so that the cigarettes have their longitudinal axes transverse to the direction of travel of the collecting conveyor 1 by the time they are delivered by the narrow band conveyors 8 and 9 on the plate 21. Oncoming cigarettes behind push the cigarettes on the plate 21 into contact with the endless band 28. This band 28 is moving in the same direction as the collecting conveyor 1 and moves the cigarettes so that they are transferred to the conveyor 1 via the space between the lower and upper flexible strips 31 and 32. The plate 36 which is vertically disposed realigns the cigarettes so that they enter into contact with the endless band 28 in an orderly array, one behind the other.

If the machine indicated by 2 is the first machine to deliver cigarettes to the collecting conveyor 1, then the second machine 3 must be arranged to deliver its cigarettes at a level one row of cigarettes higher than the band 2. Similarly machine 4 must deliver its cigarettes two rows higher. This can be readily done due to the flexibility of the upper and lower strips 32 and 31.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Cigarette transfer apparatus comprising a plurality of cigarette-making machines from each of which cigarettes are delivered on the surface of a catcher band, a common collecting conveyor offset at an angle from the direction of movement of said various catcher bands, and a plurality of transfer units arranged successively for moving the cigarettes from said catcher bands to said collecting conveyor, each said unit comprising two narrow bands one of which travels faster than the other so as to turn the cigarettes through said angle, and a guide mechanism to lower the cigarettes from the delivery end of the narrow bands to the collecting conveyor, said guide mechanism comprising an endless band and parallel upper and lower guide strips located above the surface of the collecting conveyor, whereby cigarettes fed by said end- 3,229,802 3 4 less band pass between said guide strips downwardly to References Cited by the Examiner Said collecting UNITED STATES PATENTS 2. Cigarette transfer'apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each successive guide mechanism along said col- 287202O 2/1959 Hansel 198 35 electing, conveyor deliver cigarettes to said collecting con 5 310841090 4/1963 Rambo wig-"331 veyor at a levelabove the level of.,the cigarettes delivered 3,182,783 5/1965 Smoker by the next preceding guide mechanism, whereby a plurality of layers of cigarettes are delivered successively HUGO SCHULZPrlmary Exammer' onto said collecting conveyor. RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner. 

1. CIGARETTE TRANSFER APPARATUS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CIGARETTE-MAKING MACHINES FROM EACH OF WHICH CIGARETTES ARE DELIVERED ON THE SURFACE OF A CATCHER BAND, A COMMON COLLECTING CONVEYOR OFFSET AT AN ANGLE FROM THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID VARIOUS CATCHER BANDS, AND A PLURALITY OF TRANSFER UNITS ARRANGED SUCCESSIVELY FOR MOVING THE CIGARETTES FROM SAID CATCHER BANDS TO SAID COLLECTING CONVEYOR, EACH SAID UNIT COMPRISING TWO NARROW BANDS ONE OF WHICH TRAVELS FASTER THAN THE OTHER SO AS TO TURN THE CIGARETTES THROUGH SAID ANGLE, AND A GUIDE MECHANISM TO LOWER THE CIGARETTES FROM THE DELIVERY AND OF THE NARROW BANDS TO THE COLLECTING CONVEYOR, SAID GUIDE MECHANISM COMPRISING AND ENDLESS BAND AND PARALLEL UPPER AND LOWER GUIDE STRIPS LOCATED ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE COLLECTING CONVEYOR, WHEREBY CIGARETTES FED BY SAID ENDLESS BAND PASS BETWEEN SAID GUIDE STRIPS DOWNWARDLY TO SAID COLLECTING CONVEYOR. 